WotL OOC Thread

[NoTrammeling]

Still considering what I'd like to play. I've thought about it a bit and I want to play a demi-human priest of some religion, thinking Hobgoblin (or possibly centaur or half-ogre, I don't like the flat-out -1 to CHA booooo. Also... Draconian?? That might work). Would be a custom-religion and he the apostle to later be converted or something juicy to RP. I think the Fighting-Monk kit would go over really well here.

This character is a bit off of the beaten path for both the campaign and myself ^^; but that is precisely why I wish to play it! I understand if I cannot have all of the things listed below.


His/Her stats would look like:

Coroccoco the Hobgoblin priest(ess)

Alignment: True Neutral

STR 12
DEX 9
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 14
CHA 13 (For hobbo -1)

Age: 22 years
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 120lbs
Eye color: Amber
Hair color: Grey

Languages: Common, Hobgoblin, Goblin

Possessions: Well-traveled tan robes and a broad-brimmed hat of woven grass, a utility knife, some provisions, waterskin, a traveling-sack, a pipe and enough pipeweed for a while. Barefoot. Oh and a Maul. Some twine and hooks for fishing. And of course a Holy Item, tbd!(Rolled 110 for starting money, figured Coco wouldn't keep more then ~10 steel on them though)

Weapon Proficiencies: Martial Arts (Specializing), Maul, (keeping the last one in reserve)

NWPs: Tumbling (bonus), Riding (land), Musical Instrument (reed flute), Fishing, Dancing

[JadedDM]

The Fighting Monk kit is approved. Although I'd be curious to what religion the character followed. Most hobgoblins would worship Takhisis or one of the other dark gods, but as the character is TN, that is probably not the case, I assume?

Now I find myself wondering what the goblin and ogre races worshiped after the gods vanished but before the dark gods returned. I'll do some research, but that may be something we'll have to make up ourselves.

[NoTrammeling]

I'm actually thinking that Coroccoco is the 'leader' of their own religion, one we could most certainly make up I had its principal tenents as world traveling and harmony between races (though harmony in this case is open to interpretation, I think Coco would believe it to mean neither side has an advantage though they do still oppose each other). Since the Gods abandoned Krynn I think it would be very understandable that a wandering preacher might gain acceptance spreading the word on inner enlightenment.

[JadedDM]

That could be pretty interesting. A hobgoblin, of all things, preaching harmony and balance. I imagine not many hobgoblins would go for it, what with Takhisis being back and all, but it might catch on with other races, particularly the humans. But it might be interesting seeing him/her trying to gain support in Haven, especially while facing oppression by the Seekers--who don't take kindly to any religion in the city that isn't their own.

[JadedDM]

While waiting for a response from mgbevan (who I went ahead and officially added to the roster, by the way), I thought I'd do a bit more rambling on the game today.

Today I thought I'd talk about what the nature of a sandbox is. Although the term seems fairly simple, there always appears to be a lot of confusion surrounding it, at least in my own experience.

As the game is a sandbox, it means the players can do whatever they want, first and foremost. Now keep in mind, they cannot do whatever they want without consequences. If you, for example, start killing people on the street in the open, the guards will probably come down on you.

Also, I suppose there is one thing you cannot do, and that's impede on other players' sense of enjoyment of the game. I won't tolerate that. In other words, don't be a jerk. PC conflict is usually inevitable, and that's okay--so long as it's strictly in-character. (Remember, you can always choose to react differently in any given situation. Anyone who states they 'have to do X' to remain in character must have a rather two-dimensional character indeed!)

Anyway, the freedom of a sandbox means a few other things, too:

The PCs need not form a single party. Especially as we are up to 8 players now. They can all get together and form one big party, or split into two groups of 4 (or any other combination) or all go off and do their own thing. Obviously, the more people working together, the greater odds of success. A level 1 character wandering off in the wild, alone, won't last very long short of dumb luck.

You don't have to take a quest just because you discovered the hook. If you hear two guys in a tavern talking about kobolds raiding a local mine, you can ignore it. That's perfectly acceptable. Don't ever think to yourself, "The DM must want us to do this; otherwise, he wouldn't have mentioned it."

Also, you should not ever assume that a dangerous situation isn't as dangerous as it seems. If you hear a rumor of a red dragon in the mountains, you shouldn't think to yourself, "We're only level 1. Surely it's not a real red dragon!" Or assume the dragon is a baby, or an illusion or is severely wounded. I mean, it's possible any of those could be true, but you shouldn't assume that is so. Aside from being a form of meta-gaming, it's just a bad idea to think I'm going to protect the PCs from real danger.

(I've honestly had this happen before. Where I've announced there's a dragon nearby, and the players just assume it must be a very weak one, because surely the DM wouldn't expose them to an adult at such a low level! While I'd never make you face something way beyond your power, I won't coddle you or prevent you from seeking out such dangers on your own!)

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Any questions?

[JadedDM]

Okay, going back to the stuff on goblin religion, I came across this:

In centuries past, goblins worshiped Krynn’s gods—namely Hiddukel, known to the goblins as Usk-Do, and Takhisis, known as Mwarg. A small percentage still reveres those gods, but they tend to do so secretly. The majority of the lesser goblin tribes worship no one, and these goblins proudly call themselves the Godless Folk. The gods did nothing to help them, they reason. The gods allowed goblinkind to be subjugated, beaten, and enslaved. The gods made the other races, even the hobgoblins and bugbears, stronger; they allowed goblinkind to be hunted. The gods forced goblins to be like rats, scurrying from one hole to the next to avoid being someone’s puppet or meal. These goblins have decided that they do not need Krynn’s gods. They rely only on each other, hoping to someday elevate one of their own to godhood.

So apparently most goblins are...not atheists, exactly. They believe in the gods, they just don't worship them. Guess I can't blame them. The good gods don't care, the evil gods walk all over them. Considering the subjugation and exploitation of the goblin races by everyone else in the world, I can see how a hobgoblin might get it into his/her head to make things more 'equal.'

Pretty interesting stuff, though.

[mgbevan]

First, and this is more out of my own curiosity than anything else, how did you learn about this game? Are you friends with another player, or did you find my ad in Giant in the Playground, or out of blind luck did you just happen upon the site?

Sheer dumb luck landed me here (via google), I collected some board games from my grandparents 3 years ago, included was an unopened version of D&D from the 80s. Had heard of D&D before but not in detail, read the rules and basic material that was included, realised it was out of date so read 4e. Never properly searched or looked to play as I was in 3rd year of uni, and now I want to give the game and role playing a try.

Second, you said you aren't very well versed in AD&D. Are you familiar with the basic races and classes and such? Do you have any idea what you'd like to play?

Yes I know the basic rules and classes and how some of the stats are derived. I'm not very familiar with spell details or the variety of monsters to be encountered. Likewise I haven't read about the religions or history.

I know nothing of Dragonlance other than what has been said here.

I think I would like to play something fairly straight forward for my first time - a human fighter or bard, is recommended?

Thanks! mgb

[Jenara]

Hmm, Jenara was supposed to fix that. Well, better new recruits coming in than spambots, at any rate! Welcome, mgbevan.

Welcome to all the new players! Yay (does a happy little dance)

Been a bit hectic at work, hence my limited posts, and I didn't have time till now to fix it.
Should be done now, let me know if you have issue's.

Ok what does this group need? Interesting position for me, we have two front line fighters, a thief/mage, a mage, cleric.. etc. What else do we think we need? Thoughts...

[Just_Ice]

You can't really have too many front-line fighters, but i'm gonna have to go with bard. Make what you want, though, it's sandbox.

[JadedDM]

Sheer dumb luck landed me here (via google), I collected some board games from my grandparents 3 years ago, included was an unopened version of D&D from the 80s. Had heard of D&D before but not in detail, read the rules and basic material that was included, realised it was out of date so read 4e. Never properly searched or looked to play as I was in 3rd year of uni, and now I want to give the game and role playing a try.

Fourth Edition and Second Edition are quite different beasts. But luckily, Second Edition is really quite easy to learn. If you have any questions at all, just ask. I find learning as you play tends to work out pretty well.

I know nothing of Dragonlance other than what has been said here.

Okay, hopefully the write-up I've done so far is enough to help get you started. Same with the mechanical rules, if you have any questions about the setting, don't be afraid to ask. I've got tons of books on the setting, and have run numerous games in it before, so I know quite a bit just off the top of my head.

I think I would like to play something fairly straight forward for my first time - a human fighter or bard, is recommended?

Fighter is a pretty easy class. No spells, skills, or special abilities to keep track of. And like Just_Ice said, you can never have too many fighters. But really, my suggestion is whatever you think would be the most fun to play.

Bard's are more complicated. They are a support class, and can do a little bit of everything. They can fight (but not as well as fighters), they can cast spells (but not as well as wizards) and they have some thief skills (but not as good as thieves). They also get extra abilities, like morale boosting songs and special charisma-based stuff.

In any case, step one is to roll up the character's ability scores. You can do that by going to this site, Invisible Castle. When you are finished, post the url here.

Ok what does this group need? Interesting position for me, we have two front line fighters, a thief/mage, a mage, cleric.. etc. What else do we think we need? Thoughts...

At the moment, we have a male human fighter (weapon and shield; heavy armor), a female human fighter (dual-wielder; light armor), a male gnome illusionist/thief, and a half-elf cleric/thief. NoTrammeling, TheMightyQuinn and mgbevan haven't officially decided yet.

But as Just_Ice said, it's a sandbox, so it doesn't matter too much. Plus, I have lots of recruitable NPCs to cover any potential weakspots.

[NoTrammeling]

The gods allowed goblinkind to be subjugated, beaten, and enslaved. The gods made the other races, even the hobgoblins and bugbears, stronger; they allowed goblinkind to be hunted. The gods forced goblins to be like rats, scurrying from one hole to the next to avoid being someone’s puppet or meal.

Wow, that seems utterly fitting of the concepts I was thinking about incorporating! ^^ Perfect. I'm starting to get into this character. Definitely going to be a female hobgoblin Fighter-Priest, just need to consider her WP's as I think going barehanded into fights incurs some massive penalties. I think the work-around is to have a 1-handed weapon but not attack with it.

[Just_Ice]

You could use a cestus.

Or there are martial arts you can take somehow in complete fighter.

[mgbevan]

http://invisiblecastle.com/stats/view/33966/
I think I prefer the sound of a bard to a straight up brawler.
I've rolled 2d6 * 10 for money, giving 70gp
And 1d6 has given me 2 Hit Points,

[mgbevan]

Human Bard - "Gregeddin" (the 'dd' is pronounced 'th' as per welsh)
Level 1, need 1250
Alignment True Neutral
Gender Male
Height 5'10"
Weight 170lbs
Hair, Darkest brown short/medium length, slightly wavy
Eyes, Brown with flecks of yellow
Skin, White but not pale

STR 14 To Hit To Damage Wt. Allow 55 Max Press 170 Open Doors 8 Bend Bars 07%
DEX 14 React Adj 0 MissileAdj 0 Defense Adj0
CON 13 HitPointAdj 0 SysShock 85 % ResSurv 90 % PoisonSave nil Regenerate 0
INT 15 # Languages 4 Max Sp Lvl 7th Learn Spell 65 % Max#Spell/Lvl 11 Illusion Immune 0
WIS 8 Magical Def 0 BonusSpells 0 SpellFailure 25 % SpellImmunity_____
CHA 17 Max Hench 10 LoyaltyBase + 6 Reaction Adj + 6

Languages
Common, Plainsfolk, Elven, Kender

Saving Throws: PPD 13 [ ] RSW 14 [ ] P/P 12 [ ] BW 16 [ ] Spells 15 [ ]

Thieving/Bard Wizard Spells Priest Spells Turn Undead
PickPockets 35 %
DetectNoise 20 %
ClimbWalls 60 %
ReadLanguage 5 %
Identify Item 5 %
Influence Mod+ 1
Instruments: Zhang

Equipment: 70 gp (700sp) start
Belt, 3sp
Breeches, 20sp
Tunic, 8sp
Soft boots, 10sp
Scabbard, 40sp
Whetstone, 0.2sp, 1lb
Winter blanket, 5sp, 3lb
Torches x8, 0.8sp,8lb
Flint and steel, 5sp,
Backpack, 20sp, 2lb
Belt pouch small, 7sp, 0.5lb
Leather Armour, 50sp, 15lb
Knife x6, 30sp, 1lb
Large sack, 2sp, 1lb

Total money: spent 283sp, remaining 417sp.
Total Weight: 36.5 - not encumbered

AC = 8, (10 = 2 when wearing leather armour)
Weapons
Broad sword M S 5 2d4 1d6+1
Knife S P/S 2 1d3 1d2

[mgbevan]

Weapon Proficiency
Broad sword
Knife

NWP:
[FREE] Chanting (17), Music (13)
[3 Rogue] Reading Lips (13), Etiquette (17)
[4 language bonuses] Disguise (17), Forgery (13), Ventriloquism (13), Heraldry (15)

Working on the description and background story at the moment, is there anything else I'm forgetting?